The Yankees were inactive on Monday, getting a day of rest ahead of a big week that will pit them against two of their most recent postseason villains in the Astros and Red Sox. While they were on the sidelines there were some notables games still going on, most importantly both the Rays and Sox. Let’s see how the rest of the AL managed on the field.
Tampa Bay Rays (78-53) 4, Detroit Tigers (61-70) 1
After trading away Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize at the deadline, it was pretty fair to write off the Tigers even with the crowded field of hopefuls for
the final postseason ticket. Surprisingly though, they went on a bit of a run to get themselves into that massive mix of teams by winning three straight series, but they’ve come crashing back down to Earth with a six-game losing streak and dropping nine of their last ten. As for Tampa, running into the Tigers was the medicine they needed after dropping three straight series of their own.
Tampa jumped out to a 2-0 lead in a hurry, leading off the game with back-to-back singles and advancing both of them into scoring position on a fielding error. Junior Caminero and Jonathan Aranda knocked them both in on productive outs, grounding the ball in just the right spot to shepherd the runner home. Though that’d be all the offense they ultimately needed, they kept the iron hot: a run nearly scored in the third when Caminero walked and Jonny DeLuca doubled, but Caminero wasn’t able to beat the throw home on replay review. Then in the fourth Jorge Mateo led off with a double and got bunted around the rest of the bases, and in the sixth Aranda got one more in by leaving the yard. The Tigers managed only a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning as Drew Rasmussen tossed six strong before handing it over to the bullpen, who struck out seven Tigers in the last three frames.
Other Games
Boston Red Sox (72-59) 4, Miami Marlins (67-65) 2: Unfortunately, both AL East rivals benefitted from playing on the Yankees’ off-day. Sandy Alcantara and Ranger Suarez were working on a pitchers’ duel for the first five innings, both allowing just a single run on their lines, but Alcantara managed to last through seven while continuing to limit the damage while Suarez handed the ball over to the bullpen to start the sixth. Brayan Bello took over and pitched a clean inning before getting into trouble in the seventh, Otto Lopez leading off with a double and a pair of walks loading the bases with one out. Xavier Edwards lined a single through the right side of the infield to give Miami the lead, but it rocketed through too quickly for more runs to cross and the next two Marlins would fail to cash in any insurance runs.
After bending but not fully breaking, the Sox struck back in the final frames. Wilyer Abreu led off the eighth with a double and later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game back up, and in the ninth Anthony Seigler tripled in a run before coming across himself on a Nick Sogard single. Up 4-2 in the ninth, Aroldis Chapman allowed a leadoff single but otherwise closed out the save without incident.
Chicago White Sox (68-63) 2, Texas Rangers (66-66) 11: The Rangers scored early and often, chasing Chicago’s starter José Urquidy after just three innings with five runs allowed and continuing to feast on their bullpen. A pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch set Urquidy up poorly in the first and that translated into two runs, Ezequiel Duran singled home another in the second, and Corey Seager doubled in a pair in the third. Chicago had answered back with a two-run shot in the bottom of the second, but Texas went on to score eight unanswered from there led by a pair of homers from Jake Burger and Wyatt Langford. In all, the White Sox managed to keep the Rangers off the scoreboard in just two frames, the fourth and seventh, hardly a blueprint for success.
AL Wild Card Rock Fight
Cleveland Guardians (66-66) 4, Los Angeles Angels (52-80) 2: Parker Messick continues to have a fine season in his first full year of MLB action for the Guardians, tossing six innings of one-run ball to lower his ERA to a nice round 2.50 mark. His offense got him an early lead on a sacrifice fly in the third inning, though the Angels would tie the game an inning later on a Moisés Ballesteros RBI single, re-took the lead in the fifth when Jo Adell singled home a run, and gave him some breathing room when Austin Hedges lifted a solo home run in the sixth. The Angels brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, but only got a sac fly out of the rally before Christian Moore flew out to end it.
Minnesota Twins (64-68) 9, Athletics (51-81) 6: The Twins held a commanding 9-1 lead midway through the eighth after Josh Bell drove in three runs with a double and two sac flies to lead the way for an offense that generated 16 hits against the A’s. Zebby Matthews tossed seven innings and twirled a gem, striking out seven while walking one and allowing just an RBI single way back in the third inning, but his bullpen got into some trouble once he left. The A’s got one run in on a sac fly in the eighth, and then a trio of run-scoring doubles made things tense in the ninth before Andrew Morris entered to record the final out of the game.
